Chapter 52 #2
Bella straightens, expression unreadable. Her tone, however, is razor-sharp. “I thought you said your girls were well-trained. Obedient.” She tosses a cold glare at Krolek. “This one clearly is defective.”
Krolek chuckles, the sound oily and smug. “She’s new.” He tips his glass again, eyes dragging across Bella like she’s the main course on his menu. “She just needs a little discipline.”
“I don’t tolerate disobedience in my clubs,” she says toward the brunette.
“But when you behave, we reward you very well,” Laing adds with a wink and a sleazy grin toward the girls.
Some of them start to tremble.
“Mortal Kombat creep,” Lex whispers under his breath.
Bella steps away from the brunette and stops in front of a blonde in a green strapless dress. “Open your mouth.”
The girl obeys. Bella crouches slightly, inspecting her teeth with a practiced eye.
“Honey, come here.”
Laing rises and wraps himself around her waist from behind, his chin brushing her shoulder. “What do you think, baby?” He says as he kisses her cheek.
Bella hums like she’s admiring art. “I like these four.”
She nods down the line. “The bitch up front needs to be taught some manners.”
She flashes Krolek a tight smile.
“Good thing your good at getting bad girls to behave, baby.” She says as she turns and wraps her arms around Laing’s neck pulling him down for a kiss. Its sweet, intimate. Annoying as hell.
“We’ll take them.”
Krolek grins like he’s just sealed a deal with the devil. “Perfect.”
“Laing,” Bella says sweetly, still wrapped in Laing’s arms. “Can you call Kenji and have him come grab the girls while we finish up?”
“Sure thing, baby.” Laing presses a kiss to her forehead before pulling out his phone. He walks casually toward the front hall, speaking in soft Mandarin.
A few seconds later, another man enters. Early thirties, sharply dressed, sunglasses still on despite the dim lighting inside the mansion. He gives a curt nod.
“You five,” Bella calls to the girls. “Go with Kenji to the car. We’ll finish up here and be out soon.”
They follow him in a line, like cows to the slaughter.
“If they give you any lip Kenji,” Bella adds, all sugar and sadism. “Feel free to break them in.”
My gut twists. I know it’s an act. I know it’s part of the plan, but hearing her talk like that, watching her play this role, it hits somewhere deep and ugly. This is the world she had to learn to survive in. This is the darkness that she had to hide from every night.
Bella and Laing return to Krolek, calm and composed like they just stepped out of a boardroom instead of a trafficking transaction.
“Now, where were we?” Krolek says, licking his bottom lip like a goddamn predator.
“We’ll need at least fifteen girls per club,” Bella says, her voice low and authoritative. “Three clubs in New York, one in San Francisco. Let’s start there for now.”
Krolek grins. “That’s a lot of pussy, sweetheart. But for you?” He leans back with a sleazy chuckle. “Anything.”
“Girls are secured,” Kenji says through the comms.
“Bella,” Knox says into the mic. “The girls are safe. It’s showtime.”
“Showtime?” I whisper under my breath.
Bella doesn’t miss a beat. “So, Krolek,” she says, her tone warm but calculated, “I know it’s a strange question, but I’m always a little skeptical in my line of work. Comes with the territory, I guess.”
She tilts her glass, eyes on him. “I like to know who I’m doing business with. Personality type, behavioral patterns, how likely someone is to stab me in the back once the deal closes.”
Krolek chuckles politely, still trying to place her.
“So… what’s your sign?”
He blinks, confused. Bella just smiles. Not sweet. Not innocent. That razor-edged kind of smile that says she’s already won, and he just hasn’t realized it yet.
“I don’t actually believe in horoscopes,” she continues, idly twisting the diamond ring on her finger. “I just think it’s fascinating how people see themselves. What mask they choose to wear.”
She lets the silence stretch. Lets him squirm. “Go on,” she coaxes softly. “Indulge me.”
Next to me, Lex mutters under his breath, “Jesus Christ, she’s terrifying.”
He’s not wrong, but fuck, I’ve never loved her more.
Krolek finally laughs, forced and brittle. “Cancer,” he says, raising his glass. “Emotional. Loyal. Sensitive.” He smirks. “Or so they say.”
Bella tilts her head, eyes glittering. “Cancer,” she echoes. “So deep down, you’re just a soft little crab with a hard shell and mommy issues?”
His smile falters. “I prefer protective.”
“Mmhmm.” Her voice purrs like silk over a knife’s edge. “Cancers always do.”
He narrows his eyes, intrigued despite himself. “And you?” he asks. “What’s your sign?”
Bella leans back, gaze unflinching. A slow, knowing smile curves her lips.
“Scorpio.”
The word barely leaves her mouth before the shot cracks through the comms. Krolek stiffens—eyes wide, glass shattering from his hand—then drops face-first onto the marble floor.
“Damn, Tex. The throat, that’s brutal.” Lex says with admiration.
One of Krolek’s guards reaches for his gun.
BANG.
He drops before he can aim. The other guard shot him. Why? I have no idea. He then lowers his weapon and says something sharp in Polish to the rest of the room. The other men freeze, get to their knees, and put their hands in the air.
Thank you, Piotr,” Bella says.
The man nods.
“Nate, get Piotr out of here. Tex, beautiful shooting, as always. Laing honey, tie them up. Knox, I’m coming out.”
And just like that, Bella returns. No more deep-voiced seductress. No more calculated madame. Just her. The girl who destroys monsters for a living. And I’ve never seen anyone more terrifying or more breathtaking in my life.